Increased use of Cedar Bay trail during pandemic 

Reeti Meenakshi Rohilla - Staff Writer 

Cedar Bay Trail Co. has noticed an increase in community usage of the trails at Cedar Bay during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cedar Bay board member Ryan Jung said, “COVID has gotten a lot more people out on the trails this year. Last year we saw good numbers, but not as good as we have this year.”

Cedar Bay Trail Co. is a non-for profit, trail building collective, made up of outdoor enthusiasts, working towards growing the mountain biking, hiking and snowshoeing culture in Sioux Lookout. Jung shared that they have 97 members registered for this year. He said, “This season has actually been really good. We were able to purchase a new snowmobile for grooming that is set up for this type of work. It’s a utility machine that has changed everything. It’s really made it easier to pull a heavy drag to set the trails up quicker.”

Jung shared that it wasn’t until the end of December that they got enough snow to groom the trails for this season. He added that in years past, they were often able to start the grooming process around end of November, early December. Jung hopes for the trails to be functional until early April. He added, “Early April is usually when it starts to get a little too icy to safely ride on. But for snowshoeing and hiking it’s all good.” 

Jung said that trail maintenance can be challenging, as nature may often be unpredictable. With storms and rough weather conditions, trees get knocked over, falling on the trails, making it a never-ending cycle of maintenance. He said, “I really want to thank the community for the support and the hard work of all the volunteers, because without them we wouldn’t have the trials.”

People can visit Cedar Bay Trail Co on Facebook to learn how to register to fatbike or snowshoe on the trails and sign a waiver.